Financial Readiness
You are signed up automatically at in-processing. Here is the coverage, the cost, and how to name a beneficiary.
A 4-year-old awaits her father's return from deployment, July 2, 2011. U.S. Air Force photo, Cannon AFB, DVIDS (public domain).
SGLI stands for Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance. It is the VA's group term life cover for people in uniform. Term life means it covers you for a period, while you serve, and pays a lump sum to the person you name if you die. You get signed up automatically when you go on active duty, so there is no application to fill out.
The one move that matters: name your beneficiary, the person who gets the payout, and keep it current. You do that online in SOES, the SGLI Online Enrollment System inside milConnect. An out-of-date form is the most common, and most avoidable, mistake in this whole topic.
SGLI is automatic, priced the same at any age, and asks no health questions. Here is the coverage, the cost, and what comes bundled in.
$500,000
the SGLI maximum. Automatic at in-processing, no health questions, same price at any age.
Monthly premiums. Includes $1 for TSGLI. 5 cents per $1,000 of coverage.
Bundled in
Hard to match this price, and this no-health-questions setup, on the open market.
Source: VA.gov · premiums change, check the current VA table
The top limit is $500,000, and you can carry less in $50,000 steps if you choose. New service members start at the maximum by default. The price is 5 cents per $1,000 of coverage each month, plus a flat $1 for TSGLI, which is the traumatic injury protection bundled in. That puts the full $500,000 at $26 a month, taken straight out of your base pay and shown on your LES, your monthly pay statement. The rate is the same for everyone, no matter your age or health.
Your beneficiary is the person who gets the payout if you die. You can name one person, split it between several people by percentages, or in some cases name a trust. Two things worth knowing: you can name anyone without their permission, and if you name someone other than your spouse, your spouse gets notified. Review it every year, and any time life changes, after a marriage, a new baby, or a divorce.
You manage everything in SOES, inside milConnect. Sign in with your CAC, choose Manage my SGLI, then check or update your coverage and beneficiaries. From there you can lower coverage in $50,000 steps or turn it down completely. Declining means your family loses this payout, and matching this price and this no-health-questions setup elsewhere is tough, so weigh that carefully. When you separate, you keep free coverage for 120 days. Within 1 year and 120 days you can convert to VGLI, Veterans' Group Life Insurance, up to the amount you carried.
The coverage is automatic, but naming the right person is not. This is the step that gets forgotten, and it is the easiest one to get right.
Out of date: An out-of-date beneficiary form is one of the most avoidable problems in this whole topic, and it causes real grief later.
Current: Name a person, or split it by percentages, then review it after any big life change.
Manage it in SOES
Review your beneficiary every year, and after a marriage, a new baby, or a divorce.
Source: VA.gov · manage coverage and beneficiaries in SOES on milConnect
You do not have to sort this out alone. Your unit personnel office, the S-1 or equivalent, handles in-processing and SGLI paperwork questions. For claims, the Office of Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance, OSGLI, can help. Installation legal assistance is free for beneficiary and estate questions. And Military OneSource offers financial counseling at no cost to you. Use SOES on milConnect any time to view or change your coverage and beneficiaries.
How much does SGLI cost?
For the maximum $500,000, about $26 a month out of your base pay, which includes $1 for traumatic injury protection. Lower coverage costs less, at 5 cents per $1,000 plus the $1.
Can I decline SGLI?
Yes, through SOES on milConnect, or with form SGLV 8286 for part-time coverage. Just understand you give up the payout for your family, and matching the price elsewhere is tough.
Does SGLI cover my family?
Through a separate program, yes. FSGLI covers a spouse and dependent children of members with full-time SGLI. Children are covered automatically. See VetraFi's FSGLI article for the spouse and child details.
